Camping at the county fair (grounds)

Free camping at an Idaho fairground.  R&T DeMaris photo

Looking for an off-the-beaten path place to spend the night without spending a fortune? Think cotton candy and snow cones. OK, maybe you won't find these sweet-tooth pleasers when you camp, but many county fairgrounds have RV facilities available year-around at low cost. We've found a quiet place to "dry camp," at no charge; other fairgrounds offer full hookups and the clean, fresh smell of--cut grass--for twenty-something a night.

If working fairgrounds camping into your trip, it's best to do a little checking in advance. Unless there's an active event at the grounds (at which time you might not find space available) the office probably won't be keeping "RV park hours." A phone call to the fairgrounds is in order, but how do you know where to look?

A quick Internet search of "X counties" where "X" is the name of the state will often pop back an alphabetical list of counties, and sometimes even a state outline map. Pick your desired county, then search for "X county fairgrounds" and you'll quickly find the information you'll need. Some fairgrounds have their own websites with camping information right on hand; others will need a phone call to check it out.

We've found the friendliness of county fair folks to be warming. Once, when traveling through Oklahoma, we called out in advance to find out about camp site availability. The folks at the other end of the line told us their facility was small, but on hearing when we'd be arriving, send someone out to unlock the gate, show us where to stay on, and even sent the police to cruise through our area just to ensure we were "getting along all right." All that, and no charge, M'am!